Huskers Terminate Hawkeye Effort

Lincoln, Neb.- The No. 10 Nebraska volleyball team (22-6, 14-5) recorded its second consecutive sweep on Wednesday evening, taking down the Iowa Hawkeyes 3-0 (25-12, 25-16, 25-8) in front of 4,033 fans at the NU Coliseum.

The Huskers saw all hitters record a .333 hitting percentage or better on the evening, as Gina Mancuso and Hannah Werth led the way with 13 kills each and a .500 and .550 hitting percentage, respectively. Both seniors also recorded eight digs for the Huskers. Lauren Cook notched 38 assists and Meghan Haggerty had four blocks.

Nebraska hit .471 in the match, while the Hawkeyes recorded a .098 hitting percentage. The Huskers out-blocked Iowa 7-0 and out-dug the Hawkeyes 38-34. Iowa's 36 points on the evening marked the lowest point total by a Husker opponent in three set matches during the rally scoring era. The next closest mark was Alabama A&M's 37 points against the Huskers in 2005.

The Huskers took a 6-1 lead in the first set on an ace by Mancuso. Werth powered Nebraska on an 11-0 run with a pair of kills and a double-stuff block with Haggerty, as NU took a 17-3 lead over the Hawkeyes. Iowa cut Nebraska's lead to 20-11; as NU went on to win the first set 25-12 on three-straight kills by Werth.

Werth posted seven kills in the first set, while Mancuso had three. Cook dished out 15 assists, guiding Nebraska to a .556 hitting percentage in the set. Iowa hit .222 for the set.

Iowa went up 5-4 in the second set, until a kill by Mancuso and error by the Hawkeyes tied the set at 7-7. The Hawkeyes then went up 12-10, but Mancuso gave NU the lead at 15-14. Back-to-back blocks from the Huskers gave Nebraska an 18-14 advantage. An ace by Hubl made it 21-15, Huskers, as Nebraska went on to take the second set 25-16 on a kill by Mancuso.

Mancuso had six kills in the second set, while Werth had four. Cook tabbed 12 assists as Nebraska hit .308. Iowa recorded a .158 hitting percentage.

Back-to-back kills by Werth made it 5-3, Huskers, early in the third set. A kill by Cook put Nebraska up 10-5, while Allison McNeal came up big for the Huskers, tallying two kills and a double-stuff block with Cook to make it 15-5, NU. Hubl recorded another ace for the Huskers to make it 17-5, Nebraska. The Huskers would not look back in the third set as they won 25-8.

Mancuso had four kills in the third set, while Haggerty, Werth and Fien all had two. Cook tabbed 11 assists as Nebraska hit .667 in the set. Iowa recorded a -.111 hitting percentage.

Nebraska will close out the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 24 as the Northwestern Wildcats come to the NU Coliseum. The match is slated for 7 p.m.